Evaluation of polymeric adsorbents via fixed-bed columns for emulsified oil removal from industrial wastewater

Abstract

Polymeric adsorbents (PAs) have been gaining increased attention for application in industrial wastewater (WW) treatment. However, most studies on evaluating PAs specifically for emulsified oil removal are currently limited to performance screening through batch mode testing. Hence, this paper presents a thorough fixed-bed assessment of advanced PAs for the removal of emulsified oil from industrial WWs. A unique custom-built column setup was developed with a continuous test protocol that involves both adsorption and regeneration of media. A robust procedure was also established to automatically prepare a representative synthetic produced water (PW) containing the oil-water emulsions. Four cutting-edge PAs were evaluated, out of which two being tested for the first time targeting emulsified oil removal. Experimental tests were conducted to address resin capacity, regeneration efficiency, and performance reproducibility in repeat cycles. PA2 treated 168 ± 58 bed volumes (BVs) achieving the lowest capacity of 44 ± 14 mg/g. Higher comparable capacities were observed for PA1 and PA3 at ~100 mg/g, yet PA1 was found capable of treating 807 ± 3 BVs against 548 ± 115 BVs measured for PA3. PA4 treated 1219 ± 86 BVs with a capacity of 301 ± 27 mg/g which indicate its strong potential for industrial WW treatment application. This performance data can provide a reference for comparison when testing other novel resins for emulsified oil removal. Future studies will focus on testing PAs using real PW and evaluating their long-term performance via pilot testing.